


I Get Knocked Down (but I get up again)

by Stahlop



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Great Dane named Maleficient, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Captain Swan Pupstravaganza, Dogs, F/M, Mentions of Millian, mentions of swanfire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 20:08:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21082373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stahlop/pseuds/Stahlop
Summary: Emma thinks her new neighbor is hot. Like really hot. Now if she could just get her Great Dane to stop knocking him down every time she sees him.





	I Get Knocked Down (but I get up again)

**Author's Note:**

> I've rated this M for some overall dark themes. There is no smut whatsoever.
> 
> This was inspired by an interview I heard Sophia Bush do about how her parents met.
> 
> Thanks to the CSpupstravaganza event! I had a lot of fun working on this.
> 
> And thanks to @profdanglais for being my beta.

It started with a dog.

A dog that didn’t start out as her dog. Emma Swan is much more a cat person. But when her friend Lily needs a dog sitter for her Great Dane, Maleficent, while she goes to a meeting with an agent in LA, Emma can’t refuse. LA is only an hour away from their little seaside town of Storybrooke. It won’t be a big deal. 

Until Lily doesn’t come home. The agent wants her now. She’s going to get her big break. She’s going to have to live in an apartment the agency puts her up in, and there are absolutely no dogs allowed. Especially Great Danes. 

So now she is stuck with Maleficent (Mal for short), who, despite being named for a Disney villain, is the sweetest dog ever. Emma considers giving her to a shelter for about one second, but Mal’s sweet doggy face just doesn’t let her. The fact that she is the size of a pony is the issue, considering Emma lives in a small bungalow with an equally small backyard. Luckily she owns it and doesn’t have to worry about pet restrictions. And after doing some research, Emma discovers that Great Danes actually do quite well in small houses and don’t need much exercise. Which is good since Emma prefers the gym to running. 

Emma’s had Mal for a month when  ** _he_ ** moves in behind her. Now, the bungalow does have a fence, but considering Mal’s size, she easily looks over it when on her hind legs. Which could be quite scary for people walking in the alley. Or for people living behind her. The second  ** _he_ ** moves in Mal becomes moody. Every time  ** _he_ ** **’s** in his yard she starts barking and whining non-stop. Not to mention the absolutely girly shriek he gives the first time he sees Mal’s head peek over the fence. 

“Bloody hell!” he yells after the shriek subsides. Emma, giggles at the sound he makes, and rushes over to the fence. It is short enough that it comes up to her shoulders so she can see her new backyard neighbor across the alleyway. “What the hell is that?”

“Sorry!” Emma says as she sees her new neighbor flat on his back in his yard (he has a much lower fence so she can see into his yard perfectly). It’s as if Mal’s barks had enough force to knock him down. And then her jaw drops. 

Emma isn’t sure what she expected from her new neighbor, but it wasn’t this gorgeous guy, picking himself up off the ground, before her. His black jeans hugging his ass and his gray Henley hugging his muscular arms just right. Emma notices that he wears several rings on his right hand and a chain with several charms around his neck. But his face. Oh god! That face. Emma is in no way, shape, or form a poet, but she’s pretty sure inspiration would come from the beauty that is his face, and the wonderfully disheveled hair and scruff all around his chin and upper lip. Emma starts to feel tingly in her lower extremities. She hasn’t felt this turned on since...well it’s been awhile.

The new neighbor sees her peeking over the fence and makes his way over. He smiles the moment he sees Emma’s head over the fence instead of Mal’s. 

“Sorry about that,” Emma says as he makes his way across the alley and toward her fence. She notices the heavy eyebrows and the guyliner as he crosses over.  _ God he is hot! _ “Mal likes to freak out the neighbors,” she says giving a shy smile.

Hot neighbor raises an eyebrow making the tingly sensation even worse.  _ Get a grip, Emma! _ she thinks to herself. Just because he makes her all hot and bothered doesn’t mean he is interested in her.

“Mal?” he asks hesitantly. Emma thinks she detects a British accent.

“My dog, that scared you,” Emma says, biting her lip to suppress another giggle about to emerge when she thinks about his reaction to her dog.

“That was a dog?” he asks incredulously.  _ Yep, definitely British.  _ “Oh, thank god! I thought it was some kind of demon come to take me to hell.” Emma almost bursts out laughing. 

“Nope,” Emma shakes her head, her blonde ponytail swishing behind her, “just a very large Great Dane.” He reaches the fence and slowly peers over it to see Mal, now sunbathing in the backyard. “Sorry for such a scary introduction to the neighborhood. Mal’s still getting used to it here. I’ve just recently acquired her. My name’s Emma, by the way. Emma Swan.” She lifts her right hand over the fence to shake his and hopefully also get an introduction.

“Mal?” he asks instead of giving his name or shaking her hand.

“Short for Maleficent. I think it was the ears that earned her the name from her former owner. She kind of looks like she has horns.” Emma explains, remembering how bad she felt for the dog when Lily saddled her with the name. Especially since she is not evil in the least.

“Ah, I see,” hot neighbor responds. He studies Mal for a few moments before finally continuing with, “Killian Jones.” He lifts his right hand to shake for his introduction, which is a little awkward since it is the same hand Emma held out. The sleeve of his shirt lifts up and she can just make out a large heart tattoo with a woman’s name in it. Emma drops his hand awkwardly. Of course hot neigh -- Killian -- has a girlfriend. Why wouldn’t he have a girlfriend?

“Well, Swan, I must be getting back. Lots to unpack. I’ll see you around,” he says with a grin. 

“Of course,” Emma says, a little flustered. She really likes the way he’s calling her Swan. “Um, if you’re interested in a beer sometime, let me know. I can show you some great bars around here.” She grins, and then hoping she isn’t sending the wrong message, “ You being new and all.” 

He looks up, surprised, but then his face breaks into a gorgeous smile.

“I’d like that, love. I’ll let you know when I have a free moment.” And with that he crosses the alley back into his own yard.

__________________________________________________________________________

It’s a few days before Emma sees Killian Jones again. She knows when he is out in his yard because of Mal’s incessant barking. Her bark sounds different whenever it’s Killian. More high pitched and whiney. Not the deep bark she associates with Mal when she barks at the mailman or the garbage collectors. She says hi over the fence and he says hi back, but otherwise, they haven’t had much interaction. And it isn’t like Emma is waiting around for Killian to get back to her about getting a beer. She’s been staking out some high end hotels and restaurants for a glimpse of her client’s wife getting it on with someone other than her client, without getting kicked out of said establishments for hiding out and taking pictures. One of the dilemmas of being a private investigator. 

Emma hasn’t taken Mal out for a proper walk in weeks because of this job, so she feels it is about time. She puts on some workout gear, pulls her hair back into a messy ponytail, grabs Mal’s leash and sets out for a walk.

It is glorious to be outside in the cool California afternoon. Emma takes in deep breaths of the salty, ocean air (she only lives a few blocks away from the shore). She misses just being able to walk around and take in the gorgeous scenery of the town she lives in.

She sets a relaxing pace with Mal. Emma is thankful that Mal is not the type of dog to be curious and run after every little thing that catches her attention. Emma would probably end up with a dislocated shoulder otherwise. And, because of Mal’s size, Emma is usually free of men who try to hit on women with dogs. That is, except for Walsh.

Walsh used to be the owner of a posh furniture shop in LA proper, but decided to open up a beach shop on the boardwalk for ‘kitschy beach chairs’. LA is apparently too modern to buy antique furniture. No matter what time of day it is, he always seems to be at the shop, and he always tries to talk to her and ask her out, despite her repeatedly turning him down, and that Mal starts growling whenever they get anywhere near the vicinity of his shop. He gives her the creeps.

Emma attempts to come up with an excuse for Walsh about why she can’t talk to him today when she feels a sharp tug on Mal’s leash. It’s pretty much all the warning she gets when Mal starts running full speed and barking at some intended target. 

“Mal! Stop!” Emma screams at the 100 pound dog. Luckily, previous years working in the bail bonds business helps her keep her balance while running and not dragged down the boardwalk by Mal. She tries to pull on the leash, but Mal’s will is much stronger. Emma has no idea where Mal is heading but she has to drop the leash or risk injury to herself.

But before she can let go, Mal finds her target, rears back on her hind legs, and pins it to the ground.

Pins  **him** to the ground.

Oh dear lord.

“Oh my god! Mal get off! Killian! Are you okay?”

Killian is sprawled out on the boardwalk with Mal’s front paws on his chest. Mal is alternatively giving off her higher pitched whine-bark and licking Killian’s face. He looks like he’s had the wind knocked out of him, and Emma is sure Mal’s body weight isn’t helping matters in the breathing department.

She pulls with all her might and finally manages to get her large dog off of Killian. Emma ties Mal to a nearby bike rack that is built into the ground. Mal seems happy with the outcome. She barks a few more times at Killian before flopping unceremoniously onto the wooden walkway.

“Shit! Are you okay? Do you need a hand getting up?” Emma asks holding out both her hands. By this point, Killian’s managed to start breathing normally again although he still seems a bit dazed. “Here, let me just…” She reaches down to grab his hands, but realizes that his left arm does not, in fact, have a hand at the end of it.

“Always need a hand, love,” Killian jokes. He tries to laugh about it, but ends up wheezing, his lungs still not getting all the required oxygen. Emma walks him over to a nearby bench. 

“I am so sorry,” Emma says sitting him down and dusting him off. “She’s never gone after anyone like that before, at least, not since I’ve had her. Lily always said she was always real well behaved.” Killian quirks an eyebrow at that. God, he has such beautiful blue eyes. She just wants to drown in them.

“I think my life just passed before my eyes, Swan,” Killian says, but she can tell he says it in jest.

“Again, I am so sorry.” Emma says. She briefly looks past Killian to check on Mal, who is still lying contently on the boardwalk.

“It’s alright, Swan,” Killian says looking at her earnestly. “I’ve been meaning to ask how you came to own such a creature. From what I’ve glimpsed, you seem more like someone who would own a feline, maybe a small dog, definitely not that monstrosity.” He grins at that so she knows he isn’t insulting Mal or herself.

“Oh.” She smiles. “Well, I kind of, inherited her? I was pet sitting her for my former best friend, Lily, who I mentioned earlier, when she skipped town and left everything behind, including her dog. And, well, I kind of know what it’s like to be left behind. So now she’s mine!” Emma says in mock enthusiasm and she realizes how much of herself she has revealed in that statement.

“Yeah,” He is staring straight into her eyes now, practically into her soul. “I get that, the left behind part.” He reaches for a piece of hair that has fallen out of her ponytail and pushes it back behind her ear. Despite the nice weather, Emma shivers. The tingle in her nether regions is also definitely back.

_ He has a girlfriend! He has a girlfriend! _ Her mind keeps yelling at her. Emma suddenly feels very naked in her fitted yoga pants and tank top.

“Um,” Emma stands up suddenly. “I should probably take Mal home before she decides to attack anymore unsuspecting boardwalk patrons.” She gets up quickly and is about to head toward Mal when Killian gently grabs her wrist.

“Would you like to grab that beer tonight?” He flashes a smile that she is pretty sure would make her melt right on the spot despite the cool temperature.

“I…”  _ HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND!!! _ She gives her best smile, preparing to let him down easy, but instead what comes out of her mouth is, “Sure, I’d love to.”

____________________________________________________________________________

  
  


Skinny jeans, white sweater, brown knee-high boots.

Emma checks her image in the mirror. She curled her hair just a touch, and put on just a little bit of makeup. Just what she wears on a normal basis. She is not dressing for Killian, nope, not at all. 

Killian is coming over to pick her up and they are going to walk over to a local bar that Emma frequents. Just two neighbors getting to know each other. Yep, that is all it --

Emma’s thoughts are interrupted by Mal’s barking. The bark she now recognizes as the one she uses for Killian. And then she hears Mal running and then a whump. And then-

“Bloody hell!”

Shit!

She told Killian the door would be open and to just come in.

Emma rushes out of her bedroom to see Killian pinned against the door by Mal. Her tail is wagging and she is licking the crap out of Killian’s face.

“Mal!” Emma shouts. Mal looks over at her, gives a huff of annoyance before licking Killian one last time, and heads off to another part of the bungalow.

“I am so sorry. I have no idea why she keeps attacking you,” Emma says. She leads him over to the couch. “Are you hurt? Did she hurt you? Let me get you a washcloth to get all that slobber off your face.” She hurries into the kitchen and comes back with a warm, damp kitchen towel.

“No worries, Swan. I actually think she rather fancies me,” he says, a warm smile coming over his face as he rubs the towel over it. “But she may have knocked some of the handsome out of me,” he cheekily says.

“I don’t think even she’s that powerful.” Emma jokes grabbing the towel and laying it on the kitchen counter to put in the laundry basket later.

“Ah, so you think I’m handsome.” Killian smirks at her when she walks back over to the couch. Emma immediately starts to blush. Her cheeks feel like they are on fire. 

“Well, I can see why Mal fancies you. She probably confused your scruff as dog fur or something.”  _ That is so lame. Really Emma?  _ He laughs at her joke anyway, staring into her green eyes. Suddenly, there’s an awkwardness permeating the air. Killian’s hand goes to scratch a spot behind his ear, a nervous tick if Emma’s ever seen one. Emma’s about to just haul off and kiss him when she notices the tattoo peeking out from his sleeve. That stops her cold in her tracks.

“Um, maybe we should just forget going out tonight, and you should just go back home,” she says regretfully. Killian looks bewildered at the break in the tension. He shakes his head as if seeing Emma for the first time and his eyes question hers.

“Did I do…” Killian’s expression is one of confusion, but his features are schooled very quickly. Emma isn’t even sure if she actually saw the confused look or if she’s just imagining it. She doesn’t know him well enough to know his expressions yet. But she’s almost positive that he does not want to leave.

Killian gets up slowly. He takes his time, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in his pants and pulling his sleeve down. He doesn’t even glance at the tattoo when he shakes his arm to get the right sleeve down, but he does look defeated when pulling the sleeve over his wrist where his arm ends. He looks resigned as he heads toward the door.

The second Killian’s hand clicks the door handle, Mal comes running out, ready to attack Killian again. He anticipates it this time though, and moves quickly to the side so that Mal smacks herself right into the door with a loud thud and ends up sprawled out over the floor.

“Mal!” Emma groans. She swears she’s said Mal’s name more in the past few days since Killian moved in than she has the entire time she’s had her. Mal looks confused when she picks herself up and Emma can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. She whines as she walks over to Emma and puts her head in her lap.

“Aww, did someone hurt herself?” Emma says in a baby voice while petting Mal’s head. Mal just looks at her and huffs.

Killian looks at the insane situation that has just occurred in front of him and realizes something. “Swan, I don’t think Mal wants me to leave,” he says, slowly walking over to Mal and petting her backside. Mal’s tail starts going full force.

Emma stares at Mal with a questioning expression. Mal stares back at Emma with her patented ‘it wasn’t me’ look before she lets out a whine, licks Killian’s hand one more time, and then runs off toward the back of the house.  _ What the hell? _

“Do you still want me to go?” Killian asks, a hint of longing shining in his eyes. Emma shakes her head. He turns to Emma to ask another question but she cuts him off before he can even get a word out.

“Tell me about your tattoo,” she says states plainly. Killian sinks into the couch, his face going pale.

“That’s not usually something I talk about without a few drinks in me, love.” 

Emma holds up her hand to keep him from continuing. She gets up and walks over to the fridge and comes back with some local IPA that she bought from some Artisanal Beer festival she had gone to recently. She pops the tops and hands one to Killian before she settles herself back onto the couch. He takes a swig, puts the beer bottle on the end table, and uses his stump to push his sleeve back.

It is an intricately drawn tattoo and absolutely stunning. A blood red heart takes up Killian’s entire wrist. The name Milah is written in beautiful script in the middle. A blade pierces the top of the heart. Killian reaches back for his beer before he begins to speak.

“Her name was Milah,” he begins. Emma does not miss the fact that he uses the word ‘was’. ”and she was an amazing woman. She was my brother’s neighbor. I met her when I had some leave from the Royal Navy. I thought I’d surprise Liam, but he was with his girlfriend, now wife. Milah took pity on me and showed me where the spare key was. I guess she recognized me from my pictures in Liam’s house. She was older than me. I was 25, she was 32, same age I am now,” he gives a small chuckle at that, as if he just realizes what that means. He takes another swig before continuing. 

“Milah was like a ray of sunshine. I was beginning to get disillusioned with the Navy. Liam had been in it as well and had always talked about it as if it were the best job ever. He’d gone into the private sector when he met Elsa. I had been debating it, which is why I was wanting to see Liam. Milah was in a bad marriage. She’d married too young to someone she didn’t really know well. He was controlling. Wouldn’t let her work. Isolated her from family and friends. Typical abuser.” Emma nods understanding. She’s dealt with many abusers in her past and line of work. “She was an artist. Beautiful watercolors. I have some hanging in my place.” Killian stops to take a breath. Emma places her hand on his. She wants to let him know that he is safe.

“She had a child. She wouldn’t leave even if she could, because she refused to let her son grow up with only his father. She wanted to shield him. He was only six when we got involved. Eventually, her husband found out. He threw her out of the house, told her not to come back for the boy if family wasn’t important to her. She had no job, no means of support, no place to live, and no money to hire a lawyer. We came up with a plan, a stupid plan, to take her son, get married, and go to the base. Her husband wouldn’t have been able to follow us there.” He is taking more sips of his beer, almost after every sentence. Emma squeezes his hand. Killian looks into her eyes and sees there is no judgement there. She has had her own dragons to slay.

“We planned it for the middle of the night. Bae wouldn’t be home during the day because of school, and we’d discovered that her husband had told the school that she was not permitted to pick Bae up. He had hired a full-time ‘nanny’ to watch him while he was at work.” He shakes his head. Emma isn’t sure if it’s from the memory or the absolute absurdity of it all. “We snuck in around midnight. Bae always kept his window open. He was scared when we woke him, but he hated his father. He was perfectly willing to come with us. Milah and I tried to be quiet, but her husband heard us. I’m not sure if he knew what was going on or if he truly thought we were burgling the place, either way, he came in with a knife.” Killian closes his eyes, the memories overwhelming him.

‘I’m still not clear on why he had a knife instead of a gun, maybe he was afraid that a stray bullet would kill or hurt Bae. What I do know is that he immediately went after Milah. I managed to block the first strike, but he cut straight into my wrist. Cut several tendons and broke several bones with the force of it. A centimeter over and I would have bled out according to the surgeon. I was lucky I only lost the hand.” He rubs his hand over the stump. “After I was out of commission, he went for Milah again. Stabbed her in the heart. She didn’t stand a chance. The ‘nanny’ must have heard all the commotion and had called the police. They shot him dead.” Tears were pricking at the corner of Killian’s eyes. Emma brings his hand back to hers and kisses it. Killian smiles at her, letting her know he’s okay.

“I tried to get custody of Bae, knew it was what Milah would have wanted, but since we never got married I had no legal claim. He ended up with a distant relative. I couldn’t stay there after that. Because of the injury I was medically discharged from the Navy. I couldn’t stay at Liam’s, not when her ghost was haunting me next door. I ambled around for a few years, got the tattoo as a reminder, then got a call from an old Navy buddy of mine to stop wallowing and start living again. Said he had a bungalow for rent in California.” He pauses and gauges Emma’s face for any sign that she is not ready for what he’s about to say next. Killian takes a deep breath before his confession. “And I never thought I’d find someone again. Didn’t want to find someone again. I never thought I’d be capable of letting go of my first love, that is, until I met you. So here I am.” He finishes up by chugging the rest of his beer. Emma looks at him without an ounce of pity in her face. Yes, his story is sad and tugs at her heartstrings, but without it, he would not be the man sitting in front of her. The man she still really wants to know. 

Killian looks up at her, not sure what to expect. She doesn’t say anything, just grabs his empty beer bottle, along with hers, and brings them into the kitchen. She grabs two whiskey glasses and pours an amber liquid into them. She comes back to the couch and hands one to him.

“Rum.” Emma explains. “I figure we both might need something stronger than beer.” Killian laughs at that. Tragic backstories usually didn’t make it into the romcom kind of story they’d been going down. 

“I was raised in the foster system.” She begins. She rarely tells anyone her humble beginnings, especially not men she barely knows, but his honesty touches her and she knows that he knows she has had demons in the past as well. She knows he sees it in her eyes. Knows that he’s been able to read her like an open book ever since the talk on the boardwalk. Killian nods his head signaling that it’s okay for her to continue. “Never knew my parents. Never want to know my parents. They left me on the side of the road. I mean, what kind of people do that? Leave you on the side of the fucking road in just a baby blanket? I could have been run over!” She’s angry now. Killian wants to take her hand and console her, but he knows she needs to work through it on her own. She sips her drink and takes a breath. “I used to think that because my baby blanket was homemade and had my name on it that my parents must have cared. That the abandonment was some sort of accident. But then I noticed in the group homes how we would get personalized items donated to us. The one thing I thought had belonged to me may not have. I may have just been randomly wrapped in a blanket with someone else’s name.” Killian’s hand inches toward Emma’s. He doesn’t hold it like she had with him, but instead, rubs his thumb in small patterns on the back of her hand. It comforts her immensely.

‘When I was 16 I ran away from what was probably the best foster home I’d been in. The mom had wanted to adopt me, but because she was single and fostered several children, the state wouldn’t allow it. That was the last straw for me. I left, went up to Portland, and met Neal. I thought he was just about the greatest thing ever. He was older, 23 I think, he never actually said. But he was old enough to buy beer legally. He was also wanted for stealing a large amount of watches, like $100,000 worth of watches.” Emma grips Killian’s hand for support before she continues the next part of the story, her rum long gone.

“It was my idea, so I thought it was my fault. I volunteered to go get the watches from a locker at the bus depot. If they were looking for Neal, a young girl wouldn’t show up on their radar. I got them and, God, I was so proud of myself. Neal was going to sell them, get the money, and then we were going to go over to Canada and lay low. I had just turned 17. Neal gave me one of the watches as a belated birthday present. Told me to meet him over by some deserted fairgrounds where we would sleep sometimes.” Emma takes a breath. She sees that Killian knows exactly where this story is heading.

“It was a set-up. An anonymous tip had the cops all over me. I had one of the stolen watches around my wrist. They had video from the bus depot of me taking the watches from the locker. I thought it had to be a mistake. I couldn’t have been set up by the first person to ever love me. Happy birthday to me, right? I wouldn’t give Neal up. I still trusted him. Trusted that he would make things right somehow. I ended up in juvie for 11 months. And I was so fucking naive. Every visitor’s weekend I was convinced he’d come and see me somehow. Or he’d send a letter apologizing for what he’d done. But he never did. But you know who did? Sarah, my foster mom. The one I’d run away from in the first place. And she would send me letters letting me know I always had a place to stay when I was out. I was lucky to still be a minor when I got out. Sarah got custody of me, finally, and she helped me straighten out my life. I even changed my last name to match hers when I turned 18 since she’d always wanted me with her. So, at least one of my names is truly mine.” Emma stops to laugh as a memory pops into her head.

“Her favorite song was that Chumbawumba song. You remember that one? ‘I get knocked down, then I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.’” Killian nods. “She used to sing it all the time. That kind of became my mantra. And while it’s always been a figurative mantra for me, it seems like it could be a literal mantra for you with the way Mal’s been knocking you down.” Emma smiles. Killian still holds her hand and it comforts her, it doesn’t feel awkward in the slightest like it should for two people who barely know each other. The cathartic release of their demons have bound them together in ways Emma didn’t know existed outside of movies.

Mal has snuck back in at some point. She lies next to the side of the couch, her head peeking out from around the corner. She notices Emma eyeing her and she edges out a little, asking permission with her face to come out all the way.

“Come on, Mal.” Emma says. Mal knows not to over do it. She would love to jump on top of them on the couch, but instead, satisfies herself by lying at Emma and Killian’s feet instead.

“So, apparently my dog likes you.” Emma says to Killian as she brings Mal’s face to her own and kisses her nose.

“Well, I like you too, Mal,” he says as he scratches behind her ears. He scoots forwards a bit and is right in Emma’s space. His blue eyes look right into hers when he adds, “And I like your owner as well.” The tingle turns into a full on swarm of butterflies in Emma’s stomach. She surges forward and attacks his lips. She desperately holds his shoulders bringing him closer to her. His lips glide along hers. He tugs on her lower lip as she moves her fingers to his hair and runs them through it. Killian wraps his blunted arm around her and brings the other to her chin. He pulls away slightly asking permission with his eyes to do a little more than kissing. Emma scoffs.

“Trying to be a gentleman?” She asks sarcastically.

“Swan, I’m always a gentleman.” Killian goes to kiss her again when a loud noise shatters the moment. Both Killian and Emma look down to see Mal yawning below them. 

“Are we boring you, Mal? All that hard work to get me to stay and now you don’t want to watch the fruits of your labor?” Killian asks petting her head. Mal whines and puts her head under her paws.

He goes home promising to take her out properly the next night.

They don’t go out the next night. 

They don’t leave her house for the next week.

Their engagement photos feature Mal pinning Killian to the ground as Emma helps him up.


End file.
